In the field of automotive technology, the number of functions made available to the driver of a motor vehicle has steadily risen. At the same time, increasingly complex control options are offered for different functions. Above all, the integration of electronic devices into motor vehicles has sharply accelerated the increase in control options that a driver can select during the journey.
In the motor vehicle, however, problems in designing a suitable operating interface result from an increased number of available functions and control options. On the one hand, the space available for arranging easily accessible operating elements in the range of the driver is limited. On the other hand, road traffic safety demands that the driver can find safety-relevant or frequently used control elements easily and can also operate these “blind” where possible.
To provide a large number of primarily electronic functions without overloading the driver's area with operating elements, electronic display and input systems have been installed increasingly recently as multifunctional operating elements, such as touchscreens in the area of the centre console, for instance. In connection with such systems, a menu-like breakdown of control options facilitates virtually any expansion of controllable vehicle devices.
While the use of touchscreens as part of a vehicle system can thus contribute to saving a plurality of conventional operating elements, a clear arrangement of the control options can only be achieved in turn with difficulty as part of such touch operation. Above all, branched selection menus call for a very high degree of attentiveness for their operation. This is particularly disadvantageous if the driver wishes to control the pertinent vehicle device during the journey.
A technique that improves the operation of controllable motor vehicle devices is therefore desirable.